Bozeman

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT BOZEMAN - PAGE 2

Waitress (seeing me writing a note at the table): "Please don't write about Big Sky. We don't want the place overrun with tourists." Me (to waitress): "You have my word." This is the Final Frontier. The last America. The last great place. Unspoiled. Uninhabited (or nearly so). Come see it before Sylvester Stallone buys up all the land. He's just grabbed a hunk of Telluride, Colo. He's coming . . . he's coming. . . Big Sky lies in southwestern Montana at least 45 miles from the nearest MBA (one reportedly lives in Bozeman)

They call it the Last, Best Place, but Montana could turn out to be the First, Next Place. With its economy, population and culture changing as rapidly as any state's ever has, this vast but sparsely populated expanse of the West appears to be evolving into a model of, or at least a laboratory for, a future that many anticipate and some dread. For here the modem cowboys are gathering, telecommunicating their way to work, gaining economic and political influence, transforming Montana's traditional culture-and making enemies along the way. They are the industrial engineers, the shopping-center planners, the software designers and others who can live and work anyplace reached by fiber-optic cables.

On Northwest. Restrictions: This one's short and sweet: Purchase non-refundable tickets one day in advance. No seasonal restrictions, no blackout dates, no stopovers. Bozeman is the gateway to Yellowstone National Park in winter. Here are some other fares to get you there: $441, plus $5: On Northwest and Delta. Purchase non-refundable tickets 21 days in advance. Departures Dec. 20-Dec. 24 require Thursday-night stay. Departures on Dec. 26 require Saturday-night stay. Departures Dec. 27-Dec.

Just this morning, finding myself in downtown Bozeman, MT, I stumbled across Country Bookshelf, the largest independent bookstore in Montana. Owned by Mary Jane Disanti, the large store with its loft-style second floor, hosts author readings and other local events, and carries an impressive assortment of Bozeman, Montana and Western history books. One that caught my eye: "Pioneer Women: The Lives of Women on the Frontier " and, of course, the collection of Western heritage coookbooks displayed atop an vintage cooktop range.

His program under NCAA investigation and his personal integrity under attack, Todd Bozeman resigned Wednesday after 3 1/2 controversial years as basketball coach at California. Bozeman, who led the Bears to a 63-35 record since taking over midway through the 1992-93 season when Lou Campanelli was fired, submitted his resignation during a morning meeting with Athletic Director John Kasser. Kasser said he was advised by school lawyers not to comment on the reason he sought Bozeman's resignation, but said it had nothing to do with a temporary restraining order issued last week forcing Bozeman to stay away from a former student who alleged Bozeman threatened her and made telephone calls with sexual overtones.

Kevin Bozeman is on his cell phone, driving through Eastern Michigan en route to yet another show, this time in Manistee. Before his phone fades out and he loses the connection, he's trying to explain his philosophy on the world of stand-up comedy. "It's all about networking," Bozeman says, the exhausting drive from Chicago having no obvious effect on his energy. "Stand-up is the biggest hustle out there. You have to go out there and do showcases -- you have to work and work and work.

Christine Bork, the chief executive of The YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, was abruptly replaced Wednesday by the organization's board, the nonprofit announced in a press release. "After careful and continuous review of the YWCA's operational, financial and strategic priorities and goals, the board of directors believes it is in our best interest to infuse new leadership into the organization," Gwendolyn Butler, president of the YWCA board and of Capri Capital Partners, said in a statement.

By September 2000, the bubbly flight attendant and the Chicago real estate developer her family sometimes called "Mr. Wonderful" had gone shopping for a ring. Traci Todd and Kevin Williams were an attractive and seemingly happy couple who appeared to be planning a future together. But Williams had a secret he'd kept from Todd and all but his closest friends: He had been married to someone else since the middle of that July. It was not a secret he could keep forever, and prosecutors said the unraveling of Williams' double life led to murder.